Harry Brook has admitted he is fortunate to still be England’s white-ball captain after clashing with a nightclub bouncer the night before a one-day international against New Zealand, adding that he has “work to do to try and regain the trust of the players”.
As reported in the Telegraph this month, Brook was in an altercation on the eve of England’s third ODI on the tour of New Zealand which led into the Ashes. Overseeing his first away series as the side’s limited-overs captain, Brook reported the incident to team management before receiving a fine reportedly close to £30,000 while keeping his job.
The England and Wales Cricket Board said it dealt with the matter “through a formal and confidential ECB disciplinary process. The player involved has apologised and acknowledged their conduct fell below expectations on this occasion.”
In a statement, Brook apologised and said his “behaviour was wrong and brought embarrassment to both myself and the England team”.
Speaking in Colombo before England’s three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, which begins on Thursday, Brook said he did not consider resigning but the possibility of getting sacked “was definitely playing through my mind”.
“I left that decision to the hierarchy and look, if they’d have sacked me from being captain, then I’d have been perfectly fine with it as long as I was still playing cricket for England,” Brook said.
Asked if he felt lucky to still be captain, Brook replied: “Probably slightly, yeah. But like I say, even if I had been sacked, I’d have held my hands up and said, ‘Look, I’ve made the mistake,’ and I’d have been perfectly fine with getting sacked from the job as captain, as long as I was still playing cricket.
“I think I’ve got a little bit of work to do to try and regain the trust of the players. I said sorry to them yesterday. I felt like I needed to say sorry for my actions. It’s not acceptable as a player, but as a captain it’s really not acceptable to do what I did in New Zealand. I’ll be the first person to say that. I hold my hands up.”
On the incident itself, Brook said: “I was just trying to get into a club and the bouncer just clocked me, unfortunately. Like I said, I shouldn’t have been in that situation from the start. I just shouldn’t have been there.
“I’d had one too many drinks and I shouldn’t have been there.”
The incident, which was followed by a two-wicket defeat by New Zealand to complete a 3-0 series loss for the tourists, has heightened scrutiny over the professionalism of the England setup and their drinking while on tour. Their mid-series break to Noosa during the Ashes was accused of turning into a stag-do, and in a post-series statement, the ECB’s chief executive, Richard Gould, said a review into the tour would cover “planning and preparation, individual performance and behaviours”.
“I don’t think there’s a drinking culture at all [in the team],” Brook said. “We’re all old enough and grown up enough to say no if we don’t want a drink, and grown up enough to say yes if we do want a drink.”
